Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia on Wednesday announced a legislative proposal that would formally establish the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight in state law and expand financial oversight of local governments, framing the initiative as a response to rising property taxes and what his office describes as widespread wasteful spending.
The proposal would codify the Florida Agency for Fiscal Oversight, or FAFO, as a permanent entity within Florida statute and assign it defined responsibilities aimed at increasing transparency and accountability at the local level. Ingoglia said audits conducted by his office have identified more than $1.86 billion in what he characterized as excessive or unnecessary local government spending.
“After exposing more than $1.86 billion in wasteful and excessive spending by local governments, it is clear that the taxpayers are demanding accountability and transparency from our local governments,” said Ingoglia. “Floridians are suffering because of rising property taxes and the ever-increasing cost of government. My legislative proposal will codify much needed reforms that will positively impact future generations. Government grows when people stop watching andbureaucrats stop caring. Through my proposal we will ensure that someone is always watching how your hard-earned tax dollars are spent.”
Under the proposal, both state and local government employees would be required to complete training on identifying and reporting waste, fraud and abuse. Local governments would also be required to submit an annual Financial Efficiency Report, creating a standardized reporting framework for evaluating spending practices.
The legislation would expand whistleblower protections to cover government employees, contractors, subcontractors and taxpayers who report suspected misuse of public funds to the Department of Financial Services.
It would also give DFS new enforcement tools, including the authority to impose financial penalties on local governments that fail to respond promptly to state inquiries, up to and including the withholding of state funds.
Additional provisions would require local governments to upload all government contracts into the state’s FACTS system or a comparable searchable database, increasing public and regulatory access to contract information.
The proposal also codifies the CFO’s authority to recommend the removal of elected officials found to have committed financial abuse, malfeasance or misfeasance, and would require DFS audits of local governments that propose tax increases through voter referendums.
